Instagram is not only a go-to social community for people anymore. Many entrepreneurs have caught wind that it is a highly effective social community the place they should have some form of presence.
The platform’s heavy emphasis on visible content material like pictures, movies, illustrations, and GIFs is changing into a crucial means for manufacturers to speak their story and message. Plus, it is a superb means for companies to humanize their model, recruit future workers, showcase their merchandise and content material, and delight and have interaction prospects.
Take a look at these 18 concepts for movies, pictures, and different content material you possibly can publish on Instagram. (And for extra inspiration, take a look at our record of one of the best manufacturers to observe on Instagram.)
Issues to publish on Instagram
- Behind-the-Scenes Content material
- Consumer-generated Content material
- Inspirational or Motivational Quotes
- Attention-grabbing Statistics
- Well timed or Present Occasions Posts
- Humorous Pictures or Movies
- Compelling Drawings or Graphics
- Content material Promotions
- Product Promotions
- Compelling Movies, Reels, and Tales
- Hyperlapse Movies
- Enjoyable, Lighthearted GIFs
- Contests and Giveaways
- Mosaics
- Asks to Tag A Buddy
- Reposts From Your Workers
- Cross-promotion of One other Social Media Account
- We’re Hiring.
18 Content material Concepts for Movies, GIFs & Images to Put up on Instagram
1. Behind-the-Scenes Content material
Instagram is a superb platform for humanizing your model, and giving your viewers a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes is a technique to try this. It is also a great way to point out followers what it is prefer to work there, which is nice on your recruiting efforts.
This is an instance from the Boston Crimson Sox, displaying what batting observe seems to be like close-up (with a very cool, fish-eye shot).
And this is one from a small arts and crafts retailer known as Cherry Tree Beads. We love how this one makes use of the hashtag #employeetakeover to share one of many faces behind the model, giving followers the possibility to get to know who’s on the within.
Professional Tip: Posting candid pictures of your work setting might help humanize your online business and permit your prospects to attach along with your workers, which might translate into stronger model loyalty.
2. Consumer-generated Content material
Among the finest pictures on manufacturers’ Instagram accounts are curated by followers and followers. (In actual fact, FedEx‘s Instagram feed is nearly completely made up of curated pictures.)
Take a look at the posts individuals have tagged you in, and when you love them, take into account reposting them to your followers. Not solely does it make the unique poster really feel good, however it additionally reveals everybody that you simply’re listening to your followers. Simply make certain the pictures you are reposting are high-quality and that you simply @-mention the unique poster in your caption.
This is a reposted picture from ASOS. Be aware of how they write the caption: They write a wholly new caption, which features a tidbit on how their followers can get featured on their Instagram web page (through the use of the hashtag #AsSeenOnMe). Then, they credit score the unique poster utilizing the digicam emoji and the poster’s username.
To repost a photograph on Instagram, you possibly can merely screenshot and crop it. You may also repost a photograph to your Instagram story by tapping the share icon under the publish you need to repost and tapping “Add video to your story.”
3. Inspirational or Motivational Quotes
Some individuals poke enjoyable on the variety of quotes on Instagram. However when you publish them sparingly, they have an inclination to encourage your followers. If the publish speaks to your viewers, individuals like to share it and tag their buddies within the feedback. Quotes are additionally an excellent alternative to share what your model stands for, whether or not it is non secular, inspiring, humorous, or one thing else.
To create a quote picture, you will need to obtain an app that permits you to add a photograph and overlay it with textual content. Listed here are some good ones:
- Canva: A free app that you should utilize to create graphics with textual content overlays to share on social media.
- Phonto: A free app that you should utilize to overlay textual content on pictures with textual content resizing, alignment, and positioning instruments.
- Snapseed: A free app with skilled photograph enhancing instruments that pairs fonts with totally different photograph filters.
You may also create a quote publish by your Instagram story. To create a quote publish in your Instagram story, merely add a picture out of your gallery to make use of as a background and add a textual content overlay of the quote.
Listed here are just a few examples of quotes carried out effectively, beginning with this one from TheSkimm. The important thing to this publish’s success is that it is hilarious to their particular viewers — which reveals that the quote does not need to be fancy to thrill individuals.
This is a extra fantastically designed quote from activewear model Lorna Jane, which carries an empowering message from their founder:
Professional Tip: Need to mess around with phrases and pictures? WordFoto is a $2 app that permits you to flip your footage into pictures product of phrases as a substitute of simply including phrases on prime of pictures.
4. Attention-grabbing Statistics
One other cool option to overlay textual content on a picture is by posting a statistic that resonates along with your viewers. Strive utilizing statistics from your individual analysis or discovering some related to your message, your worth proposition, and so forth. (Learn this weblog publish to find out how and the place to seek out correct, compelling information.)
This is an instance from the meditation app Headspace, with a easy textual content field overlaying a coloured, nondescript background.
5. Well timed or Present Occasions Posts
Is one thing cool taking place on the earth or the nation the place your goal market lives? A selected vacation? Nationwide Pet Day? Get in on the motion by posting one thing pleasant. Bear in mind to make use of common sense when newsjacking — the very last thing you need to do is publish inaccurate info or offend anybody.
What are some examples of pleasant, well timed posts? This is one from a Mediterranean restaurant known as Cava Mezze Grill to have fun Halloween.
And this is a enjoyable instance from Starbucks for Nationwide Croissant Day.
Professional Tip: Arrange Google Alerts to get notified of breaking information associated to your online business’s business. Information tales are an excellent supply of inspiration for well timed social media posts.
6. Humorous Pictures or Movies
If you may make your followers giggle, they will probably get pleasure from your photograph — and will even share it with others. In spite of everything, generally essentially the most memorable pictures are those that make us giggle.
Strive posting pictures and pictures you suppose will make your viewers giggle like Oreo did with this pretend textual content message dialog with “Milk.”
This is one other instance from BuzzFeed Mother and father, which reveals how easy an excellent shareable publish could be.
And on this one from Pabst Blue Ribbon. All they did was put an empty case of Pabst beer on a canine’s head, and it labored like a attraction.
7. Compelling Drawings or Graphics
Have any artists in your group? One option to stand out in a sea of pictures is to publish a cool, compelling illustration. They do not even need to be tremendous fancy — take a look at this easy, black-and-white instance from Oreo:
This is a extra complicated one from Pabst Blue Ribbon:
8. Content material Promotions
Lovely pictures are crucial to your Instagram advertising technique as a result of they inform a narrative and draw individuals in. Coloured visuals enhance individuals’s willingness to learn a chunk of content material by a whopping 80%.
So when you’re creating a chunk of compelling written content material like a recipe, a report, or a weblog publish, why not use a visible platform like Instagram to put it on the market?
Merely pair an fascinating and related picture with a caption that promotes the content material, after which ask individuals to observe the hyperlink in your bio or publish description. (Once more, you should definitely make that hyperlink trackable.)
This is an instance from Staples that promotes their hard-copy planners for Nationwide Planner Day:
And this is an instance from Nature’s Path Natural, which reveals off the completed product of a recipe that is linked of their bio:
9. Product Promotions
Instagram is not the place to publish product-centric posts day by day — however that does not imply you possibly can’t use it to showcase merchandise each occasionally. We propose utilizing the 80/20 rule on social media: 80% of the content material you publish to social media must be useful and invaluable to your viewers, and 20% could be self-promotional.
Making promotional content material that’s enjoyable, compelling, and lovable is much more necessary when posting on Instagram. To focus on a selected product, publish an image or video about it, after which inform individuals the place they will discover the product utilizing the product names and codes or a trackable hyperlink in your bio.
This is an instance from the web clothes firm ASOS. (Take a look at how informal and funky the caption is.)
This is one other one from Frank Physique, which makes use of a picture and a few humor within the caption to pique followers’ curiosity within the product with out being overly promotional.
Professional Tip: Once you publish is nearly as necessary as what you publish. We recommend posting to Instagram on Saturdays within the mid-to-late afternoon.
10. Compelling Movies, Reels, and Tales
Instagram customers can document and add movies as much as 60 seconds lengthy, reels of a number of video clips which might be every as much as 15 seconds lengthy, and tales composed of pictures and quick movies that disappear after 24 hours.
When executed effectively, movies, tales, and reels are an effective way on your Instagram content material to face out. You may document a video from scratch (together with recording a number of video clips) or add movies to your feed, tales, or reels out of your cellphone’s library the identical means you’d add a photograph.
Professional Tip: By default, each Instagram video will begin enjoying with out sound — after which viewers can select whether or not or to not flip the sound on. Due to this, you will have to add movies that do not want sound to be effectively understood or entice individuals to show the sound within the first second or two.
This is an excellent video from Purina that delights viewers with some cute pet love.
11. Hyperlapse Movies
Need to use video to face out from the group whereas additionally fixing on your followers’ quick consideration spans? Strive making a Hyperlapse video.
Hyperlapse is a free app by Instagram that condenses movies into temporary, transferring, hyper-speed movies. The movies use built-in stabilization know-how to movie these time-lapse movies with out preserving your arms nonetheless. (Need to make your individual? Listed here are step-by-step directions.)
This is considered one of our favourite examples, which comes from Starbucks.
12. Enjoyable, Lighthearted GIFs
GIFs are in every single place these days, and folks love them as a result of they assist precisely convey concepts, messages, ideas, and emotions in a snackable (and infrequently laughable) means. On Instagram, you possibly can add a GIF identical to a video (so long as it is lower than 60 seconds lengthy).
Take a look at the examples of GIFs on Instagram under for some inspiration. (Click on right here for directions for creating your individual animated GIF utilizing Photoshop.) This is an instance from Staples.
And one from Starbucks.
13. Contests and Giveaways
Are you making an attempt to assist the launch of a brand new product? Contests are top-of-the-line methods to broaden your attain and have interaction your group on Instagram. A research by Tailwind discovered that internet hosting an Instagram contest or giveaway might help you develop your followers 70% sooner over three months than not holding a contest.
Instagram does not make capturing leads and knowledge out of your followers simple, however a contest or giveaway is one option to do it.
Simply you should definitely name your followers to take motion through the use of the area in your caption to elucidate the competition and even information them to a hyperlink in your bio.
Professional Tip: Make the hyperlink trackable so you possibly can see how a lot site visitors your Instagram publish is driving. Learn to add a trackable hyperlink to your Instagram bio by studying #6 on this weblog publish.
There are lots of, many various kinds of contests you possibly can publish on Instagram. Listed here are just a few concepts, beginning with the one under from Social Print Studio. Their call-to-action asks for feedback on the publish, from which they will select winners.
This is one from Root Properly Being Studio asking individuals to enter a contest by liking the publish and following their account. Members can earn an additional entry by sharing the publish to their Instagram story and tagging Root Properly Being Studio.
14. Mosaics
Not many manufacturers use this tactic, however it’s a very cool, distinctive consumer expertise. It is also a intelligent option to get customers to go to your online business’ account web page.
Most of your followers will not have a look at your Instagram pictures out of your account web page, as they will sometimes have a look at them of their Instagram feed.
Once you begin scrolling by the photographs under from MyStory Wiesbaden in your feed, it might take you a second to determine what’s taking place. MyStory Wiesbaden posted snippets of a tattoo, which is a cool teaser that entices you to go to their most important account web page, the place you possibly can see the complete image.
15. Asks to “Tag A Buddy.”
When you can tag buddies on Fb and Twitter posts, it occurs most commonly on Instagram. There is a tradition round tagging your mates when you see a publish that resonates with you or reminds you of somebody. This helps you each enhance engagement and broaden your attain.
If you wish to encourage your followers to share the publish with others, generally all you have to do is ask. Within the caption, embrace a call-to-action asking individuals to tag their buddies and provides them a immediate to take action.
For instance, the publish under from Lease the Runway asks followers to “Tag your future RTR BFF!”
Our publish under from HubSpot requested followers to tag their workplace espresso buddy.
On this cute video from Headspace, they requested followers to tag somebody they love to assist have fun Valentine’s Day.
Much like asking your followers to tag a pal, you possibly can ask them to “double-tap,” which is how your followers can like your photograph or video. The usual language for a request like that is: “Double-tap if…”
Within the instance under from The Parentologist, she asks followers to double-tap in the event that they’re searching for a last-minute reward for a guardian, which is a enjoyable option to have interaction her followers.
16. Reposts From Your Workers
Reposting your workers is an superior option to showcase what occurs behind the scenes at your organization, whereas actually serving to your followers “bond” with the individuals who work there.
For instance, the individuals behind the Boston Crimson Sox’s Fenway Park account usually repost pictures and movies from their grounds crew.
New Look has a very cool method: They repost Instagram content material from their workers, who operate as model life-style ambassadors with accounts particularly related to New Look. Their deputy supervisor @newlook_georgia and their costume designer @newlook_emilie are a few New Look’s workers who act as model ambassadors.
Whereas the principle New Look account posts largely their very own content material, they usually repost from their workers, like within the picture under.
17. Cross-promotion of One other Social Media Account
Cross-promotion of different social media accounts on Instagram is an effective way to let your Instagram followers know the place else on social media they will discover you. That means, you may get your Instagram followers to grow to be your followers on Fb, Twitter, and so forth.
18. “We’re Hiring.”
Lastly, let your followers know you are hiring each occasionally by posting a easy call-to-action in your Instagram web page, together with a trackable hyperlink to your jobs web page in your bio.
This is an instance of a “we’re hiring” publish from Arey’s Pond Boat Yard:
Put up Like A Professional
Now that we have gone over some tricks to get your creativity flowing, it is time to create a publish of your individual. Use these content material concepts for Instagram to extend model consciousness and join along with your group in new methods.
Editor’s observe: This text was initially revealed in October 2019 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
